Hint Lightly
by Elli Cole
Summary: [NatsuMikaRuka] He froze and looked down at her peaceful face as she snuggled against him, her hands dangerously close to his.


**Title: **Hint Lightly

**Author: **Elli Cole

**Pairings: **Ruka x Mikan, Natsumi x Mikan

**Episode: **The haunted house episode where Natsumi and Mikan got trapped—with my own twist.

**Author's Notes: **This is my first Gakuen Alice fic. I actually just saw one episode of it earlier and liked it immediately. The characterization would probably be a little off since I'm not used to this fandom but I hope you still like it

**oOo**

"I'm scared, Ruka-pyon!"

She squealed as she clung onto the confused boy, his blond hair flying across his face as he looked at her. She was still quivering in his arms as he reached out his hand and pulled her to him. He nodded his head. He was only doing it because he pitied the girl, nothing else—or is there a reason beyond it?

He looked around and noticed that the haunted house had been a little bit scarier than he first went inside. He probably just didn't mind it that much since he was alone but now that he was with Mikan and Natsume, he could look around and really study the place without problematically thinking that he might faint without anybody to help him.

Because honestly, he was scared of haunted houses and he didn't want anybody to know that weakness.

He heard Natsume let out an annoyed huff and turned away from them. He felt his cheeks heat up when Mikan held on tighter to him and slid more closely, feeling her hot breath against the skin of his neck. He chuckled softly and murmured under his breath at her, "Don't be scared, Mikan."

She looked at him trustingly and nodded her head but her eyes gave away her fear. Natsume was waiting for them across the hall with eyes turned away from them, his lips in a frown. Ruka felt a tug at his chest at this. He knew what Natsume felt about the bubbly brunette but how could ignore the feelings of his own?

He knew he liked her as well.

His grip on her tightened as he led her towards where Natsume stood, his light eyes darkened as they neared. He pondered whether Mikan liked him back or if she liked his friend over him. He had a gut feeling that Mikan had reserved feelings for his friend but what about him? Will he sacrifice for the happiness of Natsume?

Natsume gave out a huff and walked away. Ruka sighed and shook his head. He deserved her more than he did. Natsume had been through a lot and Ruka had always wanted his friend to be happy. If his happiness meant Ruka completely forgetting about his feelings for Mikan so they could get together without any complications then so be it.

"Natsume," he called towards the dark-haired genius. He stopped in his tracks and gave him a lazy glance over his shoulder. "Wait for us."

Mikan had closed her eyes in the way but opened them as she felt the prying fingers of Ruka. He smiled at her apologetically and continued on walking, leaving behind a bemused Mikan. And then she heard a scream.

She hastily clung to the nearest person who happened to be on her way, Natsume. She looked at him pleadingly and pouted as he tried to fend her away with his narrowed eyes and scowls. "Let Ruka defend you," he growled lowly and torn his hand away from her grasp.

She frowned and nudged closer to him. "B-but…"

"_Bunny_!" They heard the blond exclaim as he pounced towards the darkness.

Mikan squinted her eyes and yelled out at the dimly lit hallway, "_Ruka-pyon_!"

Natsume eagerly clutched her shirt and led her to where Ruka had supposedly gone off. He had unfortunately taken a wrong turn when they reached a dead end, sinister statues stood near the walls.

He heard a squeal and looked at the flushed face of Mikan, her eyes wide and glassy. She was pointing, scared, at the statues and murmured incoherent words under her breath before she had fainted unceremoniously on the cold, hard ground. One of the statues shook on the force of her squeal and moved. His eyes widened as it dangerously dipped down to where Mikan had lay.

Quickly, he gathered her up in his arms and jumped away from the strong impact of the statue, the impact resonating through the hallway. He winced when he felt an unfamiliar feeling on his ankles. He looked down and saw his leg had been caught on the statue. He groaned in pain and yanked his leg from underneath the weight. After a few tugs and moans of pain, he finally let his injured leg rest and tucked it under his other leg.

The wall connecting them to the main hallway then started to go down and closed, trapping Mikan and him in the farthest corner of the haunted house. He didn't care, however, because the pain was becoming unbearable for him to care.

Short pants had started to come out of his lips as he closed his eyes. This girl… was too much trouble for him. He opened his eyes leisurely and stared at the brunette, still fainted, and a small smile escaped his lips. She was still rather attractive even with her eyes tightly screwed shut and her pink lips opened in a silent _oh_.

She started to wake as he heard a slow rumble of her inconvenience. Her eyes quickly opened and a shout was let out from her lips, her cheeks reddened when she saw Natsume looking at her intensely. She looked away shyly and fumbled with her skirt.

"Natsume-kun," she whispered. "Where are we?"

"Trapped," he said simply and decided to turn his head away from her. If he hadn't, he would've had already pounced on her and kissed her pink pouting lips senseless.

It wasn't right.

He wasn't supposed to really like this girl… but he was. And he actually liked the emotions it brought him. He watched her through half-lidded eyes as she stood up and mumbled words quickly, not noticing that he was watching her curiously.

"We should call on for help!" She exclaimed determinedly. She started to pound on the wall, her back arched and knees on the floor as she shouted for help. Her position had given Natsume the most amazing view of her backside but he didn't want to disrespect her. So the only way he could get her attention was to insult her.

"Stop yelling, you're only driving them further away from us with your annoying voice." He drawled.

Of course, he didn't think that her voice was that annoying from his fan girls. He actually thought she had a beautiful voice and he wondered if she sang. He shook his head from the thought when she faced him and glared at him, fuming.

"Would you rather stay here until tomorrow morning when they open this scary place again?" She practically screamed. "We have no food!"

He rolled his eyes. "Ruka will come and save us."

Mikan looked at him and almost felt assured but she was curious as to why he would think that. "How do you know?"

_Because you're here with me_, he thought but he didn't dare voice it out. He knew of his friend's feelings for the girl but he didn't want to be the one who told her. They were rivals in the terms of love but they were still friends nevertheless.

"He will." He said lowly. "He always will."

"And you'll do the same if he was in this predicament as well, won't you?" She asked softly as she plopped herself beside him.

_I will_, he internally said to himself, _but when you're with me._

"Uhn," he confirmed and rested his back against the cool wall. He had almost forgotten of his injured ankle when he heard her soft gasp and her soft fingers trailing a path on his leg.

"You're hurt!" She said. "When did this happen?"

"It's nothing…" He murmured.

"It's not nothing!" She yelled. "You're hurt!"

He cringed and turned away from her soft eyes, staring at him with concern and care. He wouldn't be able to control himself if she was to stay in close proximity to him. "Mikan…"

"Oh…" She remembered. "I'm… I'm sorry, Natsume-kun." She said feebly. "I—"

"It's okay," he offered lamely.

Silence befell on the two of them.

"I'm still scared, Natsume-kun," she whispered softly.

He closed his eyes and breathed slowly as he felt her shuffle closer to him. He loved the way her body felt against the flush of his flesh. Her heat created tingles of bliss across his skin and he felt satisfied of their closeness.

And then she rested her head on his shoulder.

He froze and looked down at her peaceful face as she snuggled against him, her hands dangerously close to his. He fought the urge to hold it and pull her tighter against him but he decided the better of it. He closed his eyes and thought of the brunette next to him… smiling and saying his name after the words he had wanted to hear from her lips.

"_Natsume-kun…_"

And he only had to pretend that she loved him too.

**oOo**

**End Note: **Love? Shocking. Anyways, if anyone would want a continuation with this… convince me in your reviews. I love to be nudged into continuing every now and then because at least I'll know my hard work isn't a waste.


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